photo: Eric and Tai Peete (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
The Peoria Javelinas took Saturday off, due to the AFL Home Run Derby. St. Louis Cardinal prospect, center fielder Tai Peete, participated in the derby. He lasted until the final round, when he fell to the winner, Toronto Blue Jays prospect Aaron Parker.
Results from the Arizona Fall League on Saturday, November 7th.
2026 AFL Home Run Derby
Peoria had an off day on Saturday because of the AFL Home Run Derby that was being held that evening at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.
Center fielder Tai Peete participated in the home run derby representing both Peoria and the St. Louis Cardinals organization. His father Eric was his batting practice pitcher and his younger brother was also present on the field to cheer Tai on.
Seven other players were invited and faced off in three rounds that included four hitting turns.
In the preliminary round, a timed event at 90 seconds, Peete blasted six home runs. The center fielder faced off against Milwaukee Brewers prospect Eric Bitonti, who hit eight.
In the next round, called Round 1, the format switched to nine outs. Any swing that did not go over the fence was called an out. The scores from Round 1 and the preliminary round were totaled.
4️⃣4️⃣1️⃣ for Peete!@cardinals No. 17 prospect Tai Peete launches this one 441 ft! pic.twitter.com/6dgY3EAPNs
— MLB's Arizona Fall League (@MLBazFallLeague) November 8, 2026
The 21-year-old from Riverdale, GA, prevailed, as Peete slammed four home runs (10 total) compared to Bitoni’s 0 (8 total). Bitoni went first so when Peete stepped in, he knew he needed to hit at least three to tie and four to win the round. Peete hit four homers while only causing two outs, but needed to go no further.
No. 17 @Cardinals prospect Tai Peete homers four times on four swings to advance to the second round of the @MLBazFallLeague HR Derby 👀
Watch LIVE: https://t.co/ZAttDzd562 pic.twitter.com/sc8SAncvrg
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) November 8, 2026
In the semifinals, aka Round 2, the centerfielder’s next opponent was Colorado Rockies prospect Jack O’Dowd. Peete defeated O’Dowd, winning by a score of 4-3. Because Peete batted second, he knew he had to top three, and did so with four outs remaining.
That allowed the 21-year-old to head into the Final Round, where he took on Toronto Blue Jays prospect Aaron Parker.
This time, Peete went first and lost his mojo, hitting just one home run. Parker quickly hit the two long balls needed to win (with eight outs remaining). So, the official score was two home runs compared to Peete’s one. But had Parker continued, the margin would have been greater.
The Blue Jays prospect won the 2026 AFL Home Run Derby.
The all star festivities aren’t done yet. On Sunday, November 8th, the MLB Fall Stars Game will be played at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, AZ. There, Cardinals prospects Peete and RHP Tekoah Roby will named to the National League Fall Stars team, however, Roby, who has already gone home, will not be present.
First pitch is slated for 7:00 p.m. CST and will be shown on the MLB Network.
Sunday’s Game: NL All Stars vs. AL All Stars
- RHP Jarlin Susana (WSH) vs. RHP Patrick Reilly (BAL)
- First pitch: 7:00 p.m. CST
(TCN’s Brian Walton also contributed to this article.)
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